Philanthropy and generosity

Lance Patrick Enad .

“CHRISTMAS is a time for giving” –would be a popular statement these times. True enough, our Lord wants us to be generous. Very often, however, this statement is not coming from Christian principles and values but come from the principles and values of the world –vanity, bandwagon, narcissism, etc.- which are, more often than not, incompatible with what our Lord is telling us. Very often, when this statement is used, it usually means philanthropy motivated by vanity, narcissism, etc.

We’ll see many people these times shouting in the housetops what they have done or what they have given during these times. Let’s assume most of them have the best intentions and motivations but many times these are not manifestations of generosity, of charity but of philanthropy.

The masters of the Spiritual life –many saints- have taught us that the apostolate is the overflow of the interior life; that the active life cannot be without a deep contemplative life. In the gospels we see how our Lord tells us, in summarizing the commandments, how loving God comes before loving your neighbor, how loving your neighbor comes after loving God; God should be given primacy. We also see how Our Lord spent hours of prayer, how he spent the whole night in prayer before going to preach, to heal, to exorcise, etc. We observe a movement from the interior to the exterior such that the exterior becomes very different if it does not flow from the interior; how the active life is nothing but philanthropy if it does not come from a deep contemplative / interior life. The Apostolate, generosity, works of mercy are philanthropy, are motivated by ulterior and rather sinister motives, are expressions of vanity and narcissism if they do not come from the interior life, if they do not come from your soul’s intimate and deep union with God.

If our apostolate, our works of mercy, our generosity do not come from the spiritual life, they do not deserve to be called by those names and above all, mean nothing to our Lord.

I’m not trying to discourage you from engaging in the apostolate be they visiting the sick, or sponsoring feeding programs, or giving presents to those in need. What I’m trying to tell you here is that they have to be rooted from the spiritual life.

If you’re reading this, and do not have a spiritual life, now’s high time to try to have one. You do not know how? Let me recommend a book that has made many saints: “The Introduction To The Devout Life” by St. Francis of Sales. You can download it from the internet in pdf for free –you have no reason not to read it, you only have to will to read it and begin and persevere in reading it. Read one chapter each day. Make the most out of it. Follow the advices given. On the day you’ll meet our Lord, you’ll bless the day you read the book the first time. If you already have a spiritual life, let these modest words, be an examination of conscience and an occasion to deepen your spiritual life. In this way, with your heart burning with love for our Lord Jesus Christ, who has incarnated for your salvation, for the salvation of all men, while helping those in need –financially, spiritually, academically, etc.- their hearts will also catch the blazing fire of your heart  and they too will burn with love for Our Lord. And you would have helped them in something very important, the one thing necessary: the salvation of their souls. In this way, in my opinion, is the charity, the generosity, Our Lord Jesus Christ wants us to have.

(Lance Patrick Enad is a seminarian. E-mail: lancivspatricivs@gmail.com)